This morning Trump and Putin will give a rare joint press conference, a coup for the Russian leader who has long been isolated by the West. 

But how did the Alaska meeting come about, and what promise does it hold?

Trump gained the ear of the Kremlin through an unlikely messenger, Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko. 

Time Magazine journalist Simon Shuster sat down with President Lukashenko in July this year to understand the role he has played in brokering Trump's summit with Putin.